An exploration of the characters that haunt the urban landscape at night

Of American origin, Serval grew up in Switzerland where he first got involved with graffiti and illustration at the age of thirteen. He has lived and painted in Europe, the U.S.A, Australia and South-East Asia.

Serval’s work can easily be recognized; graceful letters with pure lines, a choice of deep and surprising colors, and very often murals with themes or illustrations that highlight his illustrating skills. Indeed, on top of his perpetuating traditional graffiti letter-styles, Serval explores the worlds of traditional American illustration to complete the expressive nature of his work. The focal point of Serval’s work is the purity of the line, the texture of it and the movement’s energy that comes with his letters, the influence of artists like Frank Stella obvious in the importance he places for each stroke to have its own identity. The technical aspect of the work stays to the service of the movement and the strength of his letters’ balance.

His work appeals as much to the street art and graffiti scenes where he is widely recognized as a master of traditional graffiti, to the comics audience where his illustration skills and collaborations have established his style as unique. In galleries, Serval takes advantage of canvases and installations to explore his reflexions on semiotics, the link between text and space, and the significance of gesture in popular artforms. His academic background give a particular meaning to his canvases, often seeking to bridge the academic with the popular, the gallery world with urban craftsmanship.